Education

D.S. University of Grenoble and Ecole Nationale Supérierure du Pétrole, 1961
M.S. Brown University, 1958
B.S. Cornell University, 1954

Research Interests

From 1985 to 1994, one of my main objectives was the compilation of physical stratigraphic sections across the northern Nile Delta by drilling long, continuous borings. These borings constitute the most comprehensive collection of Nile Delta core materials, and have served as the basis for numerous paleogeographic studies in northern Egypt.

In 1995, we began surveys of other world deltas in different geographic settings under the auspices of the Deltas-Global Change Program.

In the D-GC Program, radiocarbon dates are obtained from selected core and outcrop sections to determine rates of sediment accumulation and to map areas of former seaward delta growth and present delta coastal erosion. Moreover, numerous mineralogical, geochemical, and microfossil analyses are being made off the Sinai, Gaza and Israeli margin to determine effects of the emplacement of the Aswan High Dam and cutoff of sediment on the River Nile and Mediterranean coast. In other deltas, attention is paid to encroachment of the sea over the low-lying delta plain so as to better predict the amount of incursion of the sea inland, from present coastlines, by the year 2100. Rapid subsidence rates of lower delta plains, in addition to rising sea level, cause further loss of fertile land by coastal erosion and landward incursion of saline groundwater. Some of the Program's sedimentological, faunal, floral and geochemical investigations are evaluating recent changes of geographic configuration and pollution levels in lagoons, estuaries, bays and other deltaic coastal water bodies.

Emphasis is now on combining geological and archaeological research results. Chronological and environmental databases from dated early human settlements and artifacts on deltas are providing additional precision for understanding changes affecting these depocenters shortly after their occupation
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The present research program applies discoveries made in the Nile to other deltas, such as the Ganges-Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh and the Rio Grande in Texas and Mexico. Studies are planned to be of direct application to development projects. Special attention is directed toward selecting the means of protecting deltas from large-scale natural events including ongoing subsidence and sea-level rise. This research can help assess modification of wetlands, erosion of coastal sectors, and increased pollution levels. All of these negatively affect aquaculture, and impede agricultural and municipal development.

Information collected during the course of the Program is systematically compiled into databases at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Publication of results continues: more than 75 articles pertaining to deltas have appeared in scientific journals (SCIENCE, NATURE, JOURNAL OF COASTAL RESEARCH, etc.), and 10 graduate theses have been completed. Program results are disseminated to the general public through publications, oral presentations and media coverage.

Positions held:

• Research Scientist, Institut Français du Pétrole, France, 1958-1961
• Captain, Assistant Director, U.S. Corps of Engineers Experiment Station, 1962-1963
• Assistant Professor of Geology, Ottawa University, Canada, 1963-1964
• Associate, Institute of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, 1964-1966
• Senior Staff, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 1966-present
• Adjunct Professor of Geology, University of Illinois, 1969-1974
• Adjunct Professor of Geology, University of Maine-Orono, 1974-1991
• Adjunct Professor of Geology, Université du Québec, 1991-present
• Legal Advisor, International Court of Justice, The Hague, 1981

Societies:

• Italian Academy of Sciences and Technology
• Fellow of AAAS
• Fellow of GSA
• Corresponding Member of Société Géologique de Belgique
• Member of IAS, AAPG, SEPM, Sigma Xi, GSW
• Board of Coastal Education and Research Foundation

Honors:

• Gold Medal, for Research, French Government (1978)
• Convener for 1st International GSA Penrose Conference, Valberg, France (1978)
• Cosmos Club (1978); Membership Committee (1986)
• Fellow, Council of AAAS (1980)
• Scientific and Legal Advisor, International Court of Justice, The Hague (1981)
• NATO convener of Advanced Research Institute, Italy (1982)
• Who's Who in America (1984)
• Chairman, GSA Penrose Committee (1987)
• Shepard Medal for Excellence in Marine Geology (AAPG/SEPM, 1990)
• Honorary Professorship, East China University, Shanghai (1995)
• Distinguished Lecturer, Sigma Xi, for 1998-1999
• Golden Trident Medal from Consortium of Italian Universities (1998)
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• Inducted in Italian Academy of Sciences and Technology (1998)

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Publications

Krom, M. D., Stanley, J.D., Cliff, R. A., and Woodward, J. C., 2002. Nile River sediment fluctuations over the past 7000 yr and their key role in sapropel development. Geology, vol. 30: 71-74.

Stanley, J.D., Krom, M.D., Cliff, R.A., and Woodward, J.C., 2002. Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence. Geoarchaeology, v. 18 (3), p. 395-402.

Stanley, J.D., Krom, M. D., Cliff, R. A., and Woodward, J. C., 2002. Strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence for Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt (Abstract). University of London Conference on Environmental Catastrophes and Recovery in the Holocene, Abstracts With Programs, (unpaginated).

Magoun, A. D., Kontrovitz, M., and Stanley, J.D., 2001. Mining for knowledge about ostracode assemblages in the Tecolutla river delta. Interface of Statistics and Computer Science, June 2001issue: 1-13.

Okazaki, H., Stanley, J.D., and Wright, E.E., 2001. Tecolutla and Nautla deltas, Veracruz, Mexico: Texture to evaluate sediment entrapment on deltaic plains and bypassing onto the Gulf of Mexico margin. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 17: 755-761.

Reinhardt, E.G., Stanley, D.J., and Schwarcz, H.P., 2001. Human-induced desalinization of Manzala lagoon, Nile delta, Egypt: evidence from isotopic analysis of benthic invertebrates. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 17(2): 431-442.

Stanley, J.-D. 2001. Geoarchaeology: Global Change Program at the Smithsonian. International Spotlight, Aqua Survey, Fall Issue: 10-13.

Stanley, J.D.Goddio, F. and Schnepp, G., 2001. Nile flooding sank two ancient cities. Nature, vol. 412: 293-294

Stanley, J.-D., and Randazzo, G. 2001. Petrological database to define the human-reworked, sediment-deficient plain of the Rio Grande delta, Texas. Environmental Geology, vol. 41:37-53.

Stanley, J.-D., Randazzo, G. and Jorstad, T.F., 2001. Iron-stained quartz as record of recent reworking of older sediment by natural and anthropogenic processes, Rio Grande Delta, Texas. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 17: 584-598.

Stanley, J.-D., and Warne, A.G. 2001.Consequences of water diversion in arid coastal systems within the Rio Grande, Colorado, and other world deltas. (Abstract). Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Abstracts With Programs, vol. 33, no. 6:A41-A42.

Chen, Z., Stanley, D. J. and Wright, E. E., 2000. Selective sorting, storage and progressive dilution of sediment in two tropical deltas, Veracruz, Mexico. Journal of Coastal Research, 16 (2): 470-481.

DeLisle, D.A., Drapeau, G. and Stanley, D. J. Large scale coastal behavior of the Nile Delta, Egypt and its 3D chronostratigraphy integrated into GIS. In Abstract volume: Deltas: their Dynamics, Facies and Sequences. International Workshop, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsubaka, p. 28.

Kontrovitz, M., Henry, M.J., and Stanley, D.J., 2000. Ostrocoda from the Tecolutla river delta, Vera Cruz State, Mexico. Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America, Reno, Nevada, A-90.

Okazaki, H., Stanley, D.J., and Wright, E.E. "Grain-size analyses to compare overbank flow, sediment entrapment and seaward bypassing in wave-dominated Holocene deltas, Veracruz, Mexico". In Abstract volume: Deltas: their Dynamics, Facies and Sequences. International workshop, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukaba, p. 27.

Stanley, D.J., 2000. Dating modern deltas and coastal settings -- progress, problems and prognostics. Abstracts with Programs, Workshop on Impact of Natural Events on Biological Communities since 20 ky B.P., Benevento, Italy, p. 48.

Stanley, D. J. 2000. Radiocarbon dating the artificially contained surfaces of the Rhône deltaic plain, southern France. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 16(4):1157-1161.

Stanley, D.J. "World delta studies - A new assessment if some key problems: Age dating, land subsidence, sea-level change and human pressures". Abstract volume: Deltas: their Dynamics, Facies and Sequences. International workshop, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukaba, p. 3-4.

Stanley, D.J. and Chen, Z., 2000. Radiocarbon dates in China's Holocene Yangtze delta: Record of sediment storage and reworking, not timing of deposition. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 16(4): 1126-1132.

Stanley, D.J. and Goddio, F., 2000. Floods, tsunamis, sediment failure and destruction of coastal Nile delta cities from 4th to 9th centuries A.D. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, vol. 81, no. 48, Abstracts with Programs, AGU 2000 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, F21.

Stanley, D.J. and Hait, A.G., 2000. Holocene Depositional Patterns, Neotectonics and Sundarban Mangroves in the Western Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 16(1): 26-39.

Stanley, D.J., Hait, A.K. and Jorstad, T.F., 2000. Iron-stained quartz to distinguish Holocene deltaic from Pleistocene alluvial deposits in small core samples. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 16(2): 357-367.

Stanley, D.J. and Hait, A.K. "Deltas, radiocarbon dating, and measurements of sediment storage and subsidence". Geology, v. 28(4): 295-298.

Goodfriend, G. A. and Stanley, D. J. "Rapid strand-plain accretion in the northeastern Nile Delta in the 9th Century A.D. and the demise of the port of Pelusium." Geology 27(2):147-150.

Randazzo, G., Stanley, D. J., Di Geronimo, S. I., and Amore, C. "Human-induced sedimentological changes in Manzala Lagoon, Nile Delta, Egypt." Environmental Geology 36:235-258.

Stanley, D. J., Chen, Z., and Song, J. "Inundation, sea-level rise and transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age cultures, Yangtze Delta, China." Geoarchaeology 14:15-26.

Stanley, D. J. "Rio Grande delta in Texas - sea level, climate, neotectonics and anthropogenic effects." USGS Sound Waves, FY '99(5), p. 3-4.

Stanley, D.J., 2000. [book review] The Hydrology of the Nile, by J.V. Sutcliffe and Y.P. Parks, 1999, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, IAHS Special Publication 5, 179 p., in Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 16(3):956-957.

Benninger, L. K., Suayah, I. B., and Stanley, D. J. "Manzala lagoon, Nile delta, Egypt: modern sediment accumulation based on radioactive tracers." Environmental Geology 34:183-193.

Reinhardt, E. G., Stanley, D. J., and Patterson, R. T. "Strontium isotopic-paleontological method as a high-resolution paleosalinity tool for lagoonal environments." Geology 26:1003-1006.

Stanley, D. J. and Warne, A. G. "Nile delta in its destruction phase." Journal of Coastal Research 14:794-825.

Bernasconi, M. P. and Stanley, D. J. "Molluscan biofacies, their distributions and current erosion on the Nile delta shelf." Journal of Coastal Research 13:1201-1212.

Galili, E., Stanley, D. J., Sharvit, J. and Weinstein-Evron, M. "Evidence for earliest olive-oil production in submerged settlements off the Carmel coast, Israel." Journal of Archeological Science 24:1141-1150.

Lundquist, J. J., Culver, S. J. and Stanley, D. J. "Foraminiferal and lithologic indicators of depositional processes in Wilmington and South Heyes submarine canyons, U. S. Atlantic continental slope." Journal of Foraminiferal Research 27:209-231.

Stanley, D. J.Review of Deltas-Global Change Program, NMNH, Smithsonian. Oceanographie, Limnologie, Hydrologie CH. Bulletin 32:11-13.

Stanley, D. J. "Mediterranean deltas: subsidence as a major control of relative sea-level rise." Bulletin de l'Institut Oceanographique, No. Special 18, 35-62.

Stanley, D. J. "Nile Delta - A Geological Excursion." Deltas-Global Change Program, NMNH, Smithsonian Insitution, Washington, D. C. pp. 189.

Stanley, D. J. and Goodfriend, G. A. "Recent subsidence of the northern Suez canal." Nature 388:335-336.

Stanley, D. J., Warne, A. G., and Dunbar, J. B. "Eastern Mississippi delta: late Wisconsin unconformity, overlying transgressive facies, sealevel and subsidence." Engineering Geology 45:359-381.

Stanley, D. J., Mart, Y. and Nir, Y. "Clay mineral distributions to interpret Nile cell provenance and dispersal: II. Coastal Plain from Nile delta to northern Israel." Journal of Coastal Research 13(2): 506-533.

Goodfriend, G. A., and Stanley, D. J. "Reworking and Discontinuities in Holocene Sedimentation in the Nile Delta: Documentation from Amino Acid Racemization and Stable Isotopes in Mollusk Shells." Marine Geology 129 (1996): 271-283.

Stanley, D. J. "Nile Delta: Extreme Case of Sediment Entrapment on a Delta Plain and Consequent Coastal Land Loss." Marine Geology 129 (1996): 189-195.

Stanley, D. J., and Galili, E. "Sediment Dispersal along Northern Israel Coast during the Early Holocene: Geological and Archaeological Evidence." Marine Geology 130 (1996): 11-17.

Frihy, O. E., Moussa, A. A., and Stanley, D. J. "Abu Quir Bay, a Sediment Sink off the Northwestern Nile Delta, Egypt." Marine Geology 121 (3/4)(1994): 199-211.

Siegel, F. R., Gupta, N., Shergill, B., Stanley, D. J., and Gerber, C. "Geochemistry of Holocene Sediments from the Nile Delta." Journal of Coastal Research 11 (2)(1995): 415-431.

Stanley, D. J. "A Global Sea-level Curve for the Late Quaternary: the Impossible Dream?" [Letter Section] Marine Geology 125 (1/2)(1995): 1-6.

Slack, J. M., Kontrovitz, M., and Stanley, D. J. "Ostracoda from Lake Manzala, Nile Delta, Egypt." In Ostracoda and Biostratigraphy (1995): 333-342. Edited by J. Riha. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema, 464 pages.

Stanley, D. J., and Warne, A. G. "Sea Level and Initiation of Predynastic Culture in the Nile Delta." Proceedings, Geosciences & Archaeology Seminar, Geological Survey of Egypt [Special Publication 70] (1995): 529-531.

Stanley, D. J., and Wingerath, J. G. "Nile Sediment Dispersal Altered by the Aswan High Dam: the Kaolinite Trace." Marine Geology 133 (1996): 1-9.

Stanley, D. J., J. E. McRea, Jr. and J. C. Waldron. Nile Delta Drill Core and Sample Database for 1985-1994: Mediterranean Basin (MEDIBA) Program. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, No. 37. 428 pp. PDF available here.

Stanley, D. J. and J. G. Wingerath. "Clay mineral distributions to interpret Nile cell provenance and dispersal: I. lower River Nile delta sector". Journal of Coastal Research 12(4):911-929.

Warne, A. G., and Stanley, D. J. "Archaeology to Refine Holocene Subsidence Rates along the Nile Delta Margin, Egypt." Proceedings, Geosciences & Archaeology Seminar, Geological Survey of Egypt [Special Publication 70] (1995): 533-534.

Bernasconi, M. P., and Stanley, D. J. "Molluscan Biofacies and their Environmental Implication, Nile Delta Lagoons, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 10 (2)(1994): 440-465.

Loizeau, J. -L., and Stanley, D. J. "Bottom Sediment Patterns Evolving in Polluted Mariut Lake, Nile Delta, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 10 (2)(1994): 416-439.

Stanley, D. J. "Pour qui la Méditerrannée au 21éme Siècle?" In Le Système Littoral Méditerranéen (1994): 231-234. [Actes du Colloque Scientifique Montpellier, France, 22-23 April 1993] Montpellier, France: Okeanos, 261 pages.

Stanley, D. J. Review of "Climate Change," by L. Jeftic; J. D. Milliman; and G. Sestini (Editors). Earth Science Reviews 36 (1/2)(1994): 146-148.

Stanley, D. J., Arad, V., Bartov, Y., and El Bedewy, F. M. "The Nile Delta: Bibliography of Geological Research." Report GSI 22/93 (1994). Jerusalem: Geological Survey of Israel, 169 pages.

Stanley, D. J., and Warne, A. G. "Worldwide Initiation of Holocene Marine Deltas by Deceleration of Sea-Level Rise." Science 265 (5169)(1994): 228-231.

Allen, R. O., Hamroush, H., and Stanley, D. J. "Impact of the Environment on Egyptian Civilization before the Pharohs." Analytical Chemistry 65 (1)(1993): 32A-43A.

Chen, Z., and Stanley, D. J. "Alluvial Stiff Muds (Late Pleistocene) Underlying the Lower Nile Delta Plain, Egypt: Petrology, Stratigraphy, and Origin." Journal of Coastal Research 9 (2)(1993): 539-576.

Dominik, J., and Stanley, D. J. "Boron, Beryllium, and Sulfur in Holocene Sediments and Peats of the Nile Delta, Egypt: their Use as Indicators of Salinity and Climate." Chemical Geology 104 (1/4)(1993): 203-216.

Loizeau, J. -L., and Stanley, D. J. "Petrological-statistical Approach to Interpret Recent and Subrecent Lagoon Subfacies, Idku, Nile Delta of Egypt." Marine Geology 111 (1/2)(1993): 55-81.

Siegel, F. R., Slaboda, M. L., and Stanley, D. J. "Metal Pollution Loading, Manzalah Lagoon, Nile Delta, Egypt: Implications for Aquaculture." Environmental Geology 23 (1993): 89-98.

Stanley, D. J. "Harsh Winter in 1992 and Climate Change in the Nile Delta." National Geographic Research and Exploration 9 (3)(1993): 250-256.

Stanley, D. J.. "Model for Turbidite-to-contourite Continuum and Multiple Process Transport in Deep Marine Settings: Examples in the Rock Record." Sedimentary Geology 82 (1993): 241-255.

Stanley, D. J., and Chen, Z. "Yangtze Delta, Eastern China: 1. Geometry and Subsidence of Holocene Depocenter." Marine Geology 112 (1/4)(1993): 1-11.

Stanley, D. J., and Warne, A. G. "Nile Delta: Recent Geological Evolution and Human Impact." Science 260 (5108)(1993): 628-634.

Stanley, D. J.. "Sea Level and Initiation of Predynastic Culture in the Nile Delta." Nature 363 (6428)(1993): 435-438.

Warne, A. G., and Stanley, D. J. "Archaeology to Refine Holocene Subsidence Rates Along the Nile Delta Margin, Egypt." Geology 21 (8)(1993): 715-718.

Chen, Z., Warne, A. G., and Stanley, D. J. "Late Quaternary Evolution of the Northwestern Nile Delta between the Rosetta Promontory and Alexandria, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 8 (3)(1992): 527-561.

Stanley, D. J. "Will the Nile Delta Sink into the Sea?" National Geographic 181 (2)(1992): xiii.

Stanley, D. J., Arnold, D., and Warne, A. G. "Oldest Pharaonic Site yet Discovered in the North-central Nile Delta, Egypt." National Geographic Research and Exploration 8 (3)(1992): 264-275.

Stanley, D. J., and Hazma, F. H. "Terrigenous-carbonate Sediment Interface (Late Quaternary) Along the Northwestern Margin of the Nile Delta, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 8 (1)(1992): 153-171.

Stanley, D. J., Warne, A. G., Davis, H. R., Bernasconi, M. P., and Chen, Z. "The Late Quaternary North-central Nile Delta from Manzala to Burullus Lagoons, Egypt." National Geographic Research and Explorations 8 (1)(1992): 22-51.

Abdel Wahab, H. S., and Stanley, D. J. "Clay Mineralogy and the Recent Evolution of the North Central Nile Delta, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 7 (2)(1991): 317-329.

Arbouille, D., and Stanley, D. J. "Late Quaternary Evolution of the Burullus Lagoon Region, North-central Nile Delta, Egypt." Marine Geology 99 (1/2)(1991): 45-66.

Bernasconi, M. P.; Stanley, D. J.; and DiGeronimo, I. "Molluscan Faunas and Paleobathymetry of Holocene Sequences in the Northwestern Nile Delta, Egypt." Marine Geology 99 (1/2)(1991) 29-43.

Hamroush, H. A., and Stanley, D. J. "Paleoclimatic Oscillations in East Africa Interpreted by Analysis of Trace Elements in Nile Delta Sediments." Episodes 13 (4)(1991): 264-269.

Howa, H., and Stanley, D. J. "Plant-rich Holocene Sequences in the Northern Nile Delta Plain, Egypt: Petrology, Distribution, and Depositional Environments." Journal of Coastal Research 7 (4)(1991): 1077-1096.

Pugliese, N., and Stanley, D. J. "Ostracoda, Depositional Environments, and Late Quaternary Evolution of the Eastern Nile Delta, Egypt." Il Quaternario 4 (2)(1991): 275-302.

Stanley, D. J. "The Nile Delta and Global Change - Mediterranean Basin Program." International Union for Quaternary Research Newsletter 13 (1991): 71-73.

Stanley, D. J., and Chen, Z. "Distinguishing Sand Facies in the Nile Delta, Egypt, by Stained Grain and Compositional Component Analysis." Journal of Coastal Research 7 (3)(1991): 863-877.

Abu-Zeid, M. M., and Stanley, D. J. "Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Clay Minerals in the Late Quaternary Deposits of the Nile Delta, Egypt." Journal of Coastal Research 6 (3)(1990): 677-698.

Stanley, D. J. "Sediment Transport on the Coast and Shelf Between the Nile Delta and Israel Margin as Determined by Heavy Minerals." Journal of Coastal Research 5 (4)(1989): 813-828.

Stanley, D. J.. "The Nile Delta and Global Change." International Union for Quaternary Research Newsletter 11 (1989): 27-31.

Stanley, D. J.. "Med Desert Theory is Drying Up." Oceanus 33 (1)(1990): 14-23 and 54-55.

Stanley, D. J. Review of "Pioneers of Maltese Geology," by G. Z. Maempel. Earth Sciences History 9 (1)(1990): 79-80.

Stanley, D. J. "Recent Subsidence and Northeast Tilting of the Nile Delta, Egypt." Marine Geology 94 (1/2)(1990): 147-154.